Coordinating multiple callers with a single Public Service Access Point (PSAP) agent has proven difficult if not impossible using traditional PSAP systems. Specifically, when every caller to a PSAP is using a voice channel to communicate with the PSAP, it is difficult if not impossible for the PSAP agent to communicate with multiple callers simultaneously, even if the multiple callers are calling in regards to the same emergent event. In particular, attempts to establish audio conferences between multiple callers and a single PSAP agent have been proposed but have not been widely implemented. This lack of acceptance is often due to the confusion that often ensues when communicating with more than one person about an emergent event. The difficulty is further exacerbated when one or more of the callers is hysterical or otherwise difficult to communicate with.
Because of these and other difficulties, when a PSAP system receives calls from multiple callers at substantially the same time, the current practice is to connect callers to an available PSAP agent, for a one-on-one interaction, and make the other callers wait until a PSAP agent becomes available.